The present invention relates to a combination water slide and pool and more particularly pertains to providing recreation and amusement for children.
The toy water slide is generally comprised of an elongated strip of plastic material that is secured to a ground area with a water sprinkler or hose placed in proximity to the water slide to create a wet and slippery surface of the strip of plastic material. A child can then run towards the strip and either slide or flop towards the strip with the inertia created by the run causing the child to slide over the elongated strip, usually terminating on the exposed ground area at the end of the strip. What is needed is a place that the child can end their slide in that is not an exposed area of ground where the risk of injury is greater.
The present invention seeks to solve the above mentioned problem by providing a device that includes an elongated sliding surface that terminates in a small wading pool which will receive a sliding child at the end of their slide.
The use of toy water slides is known in the prior art. More specifically, toy water slides here to fore devised and utilized for the purpose of entertaining children are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,669,822 and 5,507,696 both to Smollar disclose water slides with interconnecting tubes, which may be filled with water. Some of the tubes form the sidewalls of the pool, while the other tubes form bumps of graduated height to provide a ramp at the end of the slide. U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,922 to Katz discloses an elongated slide sheet terminating into a pool. The inflatable sidewalls have heat welded seams which create a depressed serpentine path between them. U.S. Pat. No. 5,401,214 to Smollar discloses a water slide with an inflatable set of tubes to form a ramp in the center, wherein a spray of water is delivered from each side.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objective and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a combination water slide and pool for providing recreation and amusement for children.
In this respect, the combination water slide and pool according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing recreation and amusement for children.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved combination water slide and pool which can be used for providing recreation and amusement for children. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.